Adventure. A biologist (Natalie Portman) signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply, to discover what happened to her soldier husband (Oscar Isaac). Also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson. Sometimes cinematic adaptations are conversations with source material rather than direct representations. No recent film more exemplifies this idea than Alex Garland's bold, metaphysical and just plain weird "Annihilation," adapted from Jeff VanderMeer's book. The result is a deeply challenging, big budget, female-driven sci-fi film, which begs a question — how did this get made? Films as singularly adventurous as this don't come around often. VanderMeer's book is obtuse, meditative, mysterious and transfixing. It suggests and hints at possibilities that are far greater and wilder than the characters encounter in the plot, requiring the reader to make those connections, to fill in the gaps. Garland, who adapted the screenplay, takes the premise, characters and larger ideas of VanderMeer's book, and interprets them in his own story to bring an almost unfilmable novel to the big screen as a sci-fi epic. (R for violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality) ★★★ (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service)

Black Panther

Action. After the events of "Captain America: Civil War," King T'Challa returns home to his technologically advanced African country of Wakanda, but when two enemies conspire to bring down the kingdom, he must suit up as the Black Panther and work with a CIA agent and members of Wakanda's all-female special forces to prevent a world war. "Black Panther" is grand scale. It's serious. And it represents a jumble of modern ideas and hopes that make it very much of this moment. (PG-13 for prolonged sequences of action violence, and a brief rude gesture) ★★★ (Mick LaSalle, Hearst Newspapers)

Death Wish

Drama. Hard to say whether this sequel to the violent 1974 Charles Bronson revenge classic is an example of the best or worst timing, but Bruce Willis takes on the lead role of a man who becomes a gun-toting vigilante killing machine after his family is attacked by robbers. The new "Death Wish" will never have the social impact that the original "Death Wish" had in 1974, but this remake finds smart ways to update the story. The movie reimagines most of the details of the "Death Wish" story — such as how Paul Kersey (Willis) ends up acquiring an unregistered gun and how he decides to turn vigilante — and every idea is a good one. (R for strong bloody violence, and language throughout) ★★★ (M.L.)

Every Day

Drama. A shy teenager falls for someone who transforms into another person every day, based on the novel by David Levithan ("Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"). (PG-13 for thematic content, language, teen drinking, and suggestive material)

A Fantastic Woman

Drama. This year's Oscar winner for best foreign language film revolves around a Chilean transgender woman working as a waitress and moonlighting as a nightclub singer, whose life is torn apart by the death of her older boyfriend. The title of the impressive Chilean film "A Fantastic Woman" refers to the main character, a young trans woman who refuses to stay silent in the face of relentless attacks from her lover's disgusted ex-wife and family. But it also could be applied to Daniela Vega, the young trans actress who inhabits Marina's story with a stunning sense of self-assuredness and strength that belies her rather scant résumé. As directed by Sebastian Lelio, the movie comes across less like a screed about trans rights and more like an involving story of someone struggling to stand upright as their world is falling down around them. Much of that success rests with Vega who brings a been-there-done-that authenticity to the portrayal of trans life. She proves that there needs to be more opportunities for trans actors on screen. (R for language, sexual content, nudity and a disturbing assault) ★★★ (Cary Darling, Hearst Newspapers)

Game Night

Comedy. A group of friends (Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury) who meet regularly for game nights find themselves trying to solve a real-life murder mystery. Also stars Kyle Chandler, Michael C. Hall, Jesse Plemons and Chelsea Peretti. "Game Night" is not trying to be an important social document or a work of art. There's nothing here designed to create a sense of awe or win awards or be remembered more than a year from now. This is a comedy-thriller made simply to please in the moment, and it does, for almost every moment of its 100-minute running time. (R for language, sexual references and some violence) ★★★ (M.L.)

The Greatest Showman

Musical. An original musical about P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) that celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. Also stars Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson. There's idiotic, and there's magnificent, but "The Greatest Showman" is that special thing that happens sometimes. It's magnificently idiotic. It's an awful mess, but it's flashy. Having an actor as talented and likable as Jackman definitely helps. (PG for thematic elements, including a brawl) ★ 1/2 (M.L.)

Gringo

Comedy. This dark action comedy explores a businessman's battle of survival for when he finds himself crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal when his shady company sends him to Mexico. The pleasures of "Gringo" are the pleasures of genre: It's a fun type of movie, but it's not a good version of the type. The movie is heavy on coincidences, heavy on the wrong person always showing up at the right time, and it goes for a certain mood — a zaniness that doesn't preclude the likelihood that lots of people will end up dead. Setting up a movie like this is easy. What's hard is bringing it all home. And so, not surprisingly, the beginning is strong, and then it goes downhill. "Gringo" is a puzzle with too many pieces, or not enough pieces, or maybe it's a bunch of pieces from several different puzzles. But one thing is certain. It's never going to fit together. (R for language throughout, violence and sexual content) ★★ (M.L.)

The Hurricane Heist

Action. Thieves attempt a massive heist at one of a U.S. Treasury facility as a Category 5 hurricane approaches. (PG-13 for sequences of gun violence, action, destruction, language and some suggestive material)

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Adventure. Four teenagers discover an old video game console and are literally drawn into the game's jungle setting, becoming the adult avatars (Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan) they chose. A winning comedy that offers more star power than one might expect from a sequel to a so-so film. (PG-13 for adventure action, suggestive content and some language) ★★★ (Carla Meyer, Hearst Newspapers)

The Party

Comedy. Director Sally Potter's latest is a black-and-white black comedy about a woman who hosts a party to celebrate her new promotion, but it soon becomes clear that not everything is going to go down as smoothly as the red wine. The world is always present in the films of Sally Potter, waiting outside, guiding and influencing the lives of people within her specific and intense gaze. Shot in a glossy, appealing black-and-white and filmed in a single location, "The Party" generates a pressure-cooker atmosphere. (R for language and drug use) (M.L.)

Red Sparrow

Drama. Jennifer Lawrence's Russian ballerina is recruited to ''Sparrow School,'' a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon, but her first mission targeting an American threatens the security of both nations. "Red Sparrow" is a thoroughly entertaining movie that stays fresh and interesting for all of its two-hours-plus running time. But what kicks it into a higher level is that it's a terrific vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence, who is a film star in the classic sense. "Red Sparrow" takes Lawrence to Vienna, to Budapest and to London, and we go with her, and there's lot of intrigue and seduction. But the engine of the movie is the character's horror at her own life — at losing her calling and at serving a government that she despises. It's the kind of thing that Lawrence does well and almost instinctively, a down-to-earth and barely expressed moral outrage. (R for strong violence, torture, sexual content, language and some graphic nudity) ★★★ 1/2 (M.L.)

The Shape of Water

Drama. In a 1960s research facility, a mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) forms a relationship with an aquatic creature, against the wishes of shadowy government entities. Writer-director Guillermo Del Toro imagines a whole world, one that has never existed before, and then creates it with a meticulousness and fidelity that can inspire awe. (R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language) ★★★ (M.L.)

The Strangers: Prey at Night

Horror. A family staying in a secluded mobile home park for the night are visited by three masked psychopaths. "The Strangers: Prey at Night" is a nihilistic slasher movie, and a subtle criticism of society's destabilizing family unit. But mostly it serves as a comprehensive manual of bad places to hide from a masked killer. (R for horror violence and terror throughout, and for language) ★ (Peter Hartlaub)

Thoroughbreds

Drama. Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart, and together hatch a plan to solve both of their problems. "Thoroughbreds" freshens the trope of toxic teenage female friendship just enough to be distinctive. It starts out strong but ends up basic, lacking the complexity of "Heavenly Creatures" or even "Wild Things." (R for disturbing behavior, bloody images, language, sexual references, and some drug content) ★★ (C.M.)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Drama. A mother (Frances McDormand) personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder, when they fail to catch the culprit. It's a wonder how much emotional nuance McDormand can convey behind a mask of seeming implacability. (R for violence, language throughout, and some sexual references) ★★★★ (M.L.)

A Wrinkle in Time

Fantasy. After the disappearance of her scientist father (Chris Pine), three peculiar beings (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling) send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him, in Ava DuVernay's adaptation of the classic children's novel. There's something about "A Wrinkle in Time" overall that doesn't take flight. It doesn't fall to the ground, either, just sort of hovers when it should soar. It's conscientious. It's watchable, and it's never less than competent. But it seems to strive so hard to be inspirational, rather than letting the inspiration come through the story, that it becomes preachy and self-conscious. (PG for thematic elements and some peril) ★★ (M.L.)